CONQUISTA ISSUE 15

It's here! With contributions from Suze Clemitson, Brian Hodes, Holly Blades, Shane Stokes and many more, Conquista issue 15 is available now from our website here or our many stockists here.

And our special new subscriber offer still applies: see here for details.

SPECIAL NEW SUBSCRIBER OFFER

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For a limited period only, every new subscriber will be entitled to two free print back issues of Conquista.

Take out a subscription from our website by clicking here, then we'll email you to ask which two issues you would like to receive. Choose two from issue 1, issue 10, issue 11, issue 12, issue 13 and issue 14 (your subscription will start with issue 15, which will be sent to you at the same time).

By taking advantage of this special offer and becoming a subscriber you can help us achieve our goal of maintaining our independence while keeping advertising to a minimum. We would be delighted if you would consider it, and help Conquista remain unique.

MARK McNALLY - RIDING FOR ANTOINE

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“ . . . two weeks ago I started my second Gent-Wevelgem. Anybody who knows the history of the event will know in the past it was a sprinter's race, but these last few years its evolved into more of a pure classics style. This year these details faded in to the background, as it was an emotional day. In the race one year before I experienced one of my darkest days on the bike and probably in my whole life. We left the team bus in the morning with eight guys ready for the race and returned only as seven . . .”

The 2016 edition of Gent-Wevelgem will be long remembered for the tragic loss of Antoine Demoitié of Team Wanty – Groupe Gobert. Conquista blogger Mark McNally rode alongside Antoine that day and made an emotional return to the race this year. Read all about Riding for Antoinehere.

CHRIS WILLIAMS - THE 'BUSINESS' OF PROFESSIONAL CYCLING

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We have written at length (here, for example, and in our feature on track cycling in issue 11 here) about professional road racing's broken business model. But now you don’t have to take our word for it: star blogger Chris Williams took time out during the recent Tour of Taiwan to break it down for us from the inside. However, Chris and Team Novo Nordisk offer a new twist on this old topic: they are on a mission not just to race hard and represent their sponsor, but to inspire, educate and empower 415 million fellow diabetics around the world.

Read Chris’s heartfelt and passionate take on The ‘Business’ of Professional Cyclinghere.

Chris Williams rides for Team Novo Nordisk - the world's first all-diabetes professional cycling team

GORDON DANIELS - FINGS AIN'T WOT THEY USED T'BE . . .

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Over a long career, retired amateur racer Gordon Daniels read every book and article he could find on the subject of training for cyclists. His personal favourite may surprise you. Take a look at his reflections on a life in training here.

CONQUISTA 14 - SUBSCRIBER COPIES

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Subscribers: please don’t be alarmed if a mysterious Jiffy Bag lands on your doormat in the next day or two. We have kept complete records, and we know exactly what’s inside . . .

DAVID ROBERT - KBK JUNIORES

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Ollie Robinson of Thanet Road Club (in the red helmet, above) dreams of being a professional cyclist. As 2013 South-East Road Race Champion, 2014 South-East Time Trial Champion and winner of the 2016 South East Junior Road Race he’s definitely heading in the right direction.

This year he has made the step up to continental racing, taking on the daunting early season semi-classic Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne Juniores. Former editor of Cycling World (and fellow Thanet Roadster) David Robert went along to follow his progress – along with most of Ollie’s family.

JÖRG JAKSCHE - PUERTO, FUENTES & ABSOLUTION

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The whole sorry saga of the mystery Jiffy Bag raises once again the unwelcome spectre of doping. In Conquista issue 1 Jörg Jaksche wrote about finding himself in the middle of one of cycling's most spectacular busts, Operación Puerto. Now you can read his full insider account at conquista.cc in Puerto, Fuentes and Absolutionhere.

And remember, Conquista issue 1 is still available both in print and as part of our digital back issue bundle - pdf downloads of all our ten first issues (0-9) for just £20. Find out more here.

JOSH LANE - BODY OF WORK

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Blogger Josh Lane – bike obsessive, mechanic at Shoreditch’s legendary look mum no hands! and all round good egg – has very rapidly become a fixture at conquista.cc. This week he takes a long hard look in the mirror and evaluates the physical changes that have followed his switch from MTB to road riding. Check out the latest instalment of his Life Behind Barshere.

PHIL MACDONALD - REPORTING FOR DUTY

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"Stripping away any pretence of glamour, what is a swannie, really? A glorified sandwich maker, bottle filler and driver. If you can slap some oil on legs and hold a conversation about farting then you have the complete skill set.”In normal daily life, Phil Macdonald has a perfectly respectable job as a physiotherapist. So what makes him periodically abandon all connection with real life, logic and common sense and hit the road with Team Wiggins?

Learn from the inside just what it means to be a soigneur, in Phil’s Reporting for Duty, originally published in Conquista issue 13, and now available on Phil’s website here.

TREVOR GORNALL - SPEEDRUNS

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In the latest entry in his blog Diary of an Amateur Racer, Conquista editor Trevor Gornall takes on the awe-inspiring Speedruns of the Liverpool Century Road Club. These are four training rides, of up to eight hours’ duration, intended as the last piece of pre-season fine-tuning running on Sundays in late January and February. Featuring arcane rules that no one can agree on, arguments about who is allowed to contest what is not a sprint at the end of what is definitely not a race, malfunctioning Garmins, inadvertent trespass, a guest appearance from Phil Macdonald (siogneur to Sir Wiggo himself) and a LOT of beans on toast, this is British grass roots cycling at its grass rootsiest. Put the kettle on and join the action here.

MARCOS PEREDA - "OSITO": CYCLING & THE BROTHERS ESCOBAR

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He started his criminal career stealing gravestones from churchyards and reselling them. It is estimated that at his peak he was supplying 80% of the USA's imported cocaine, and had a personal net worth in excess of $30 billion – making him the world’s seventh richest man. Pablo Escobar was a conquistador, all right.He was also a cycling nut. His brother and right-hand-man Roberto, known as Osito (“Teddy Bear”), was a professional rider, and later a team owner (and you thought Oleg Tinkoff was bad). Pablo even built his own personal velodromes: star riders were paid handsomely to come and perform for the entertainment of the brothers.And now you can read the full story of Cycling and the Brothers Escobar here – as told by Spanish cycling writer Marcos Pereda (with thanks to ctxt.es).

SCOTT WILSON - A CANTICLE FOR COMMERCE

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Josh Lane's recent blog entry about Generation Lost drew a very enthusiastic response, becoming one of the most-visited pages ever on conquista.cc. Josh’s thoughts about the challenges faced by cycling’s younger generation struck a particular chord with Scott Wilson. Scott is a mechanic and frame builder in Chicago, Illinois, and a nonfiction writing master's student at Columbia College. He applied his unique combination of talents to the topic of cycling and the cyclist within capitalism.